REVIEW OF ZNMD AND KAHAANI

    Last weekend, my wife and I watched two Hindi movies on TV that made my weekend : Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD, link http://www.znmdthemovie.com/) and Kahaani (link: http://www.kahaanithefilm.com/). We had watched Kahanni in the theatres with my mother. Similarly, we had also seen ZNMD earlier.

    Still, both movies are extremely watchable and I wanted to blog about them - so here I am, one week later, well settled after the initial urge to blog !

    My thoughts shall go to ZNMD first and then Kahaani. There is one common thread between the two movies which is the way that both movies reflect the places they are set in. ZNMD captures the landscapes of Spain superbly and Kahaani manages an even more difficult task : it captures the soul of a city, to some extent.

    Let me begin with the negative points of ZNMD first : there is hardly any story to talk about. Three well-off friends Kabir, Imran and Arjun set out on a bachelor trip to Spain and indulge in dares. Kabir is the one whose marriage is fixed. They meet Laila, an adventurous girl, who instructs them in deep sea diving. Laila and Arjun fall in love and eventually marry at the end of the movie. Their romance is the main bulwark of the movie. Towards the end, it is revealed that Kabir's wedding proposal to Natasha was a mistake : he had actually brought the ring for his mother ! As they complete the third dare, each friend makes a promise that they would keep if they survive. Of course, they do survive and so Kabir cancels his wedding while Arjun takes Laila to Morocco, where they marry.

    There is not much of a story, but the relationships are brought out well. Farhan Akhtar directed Dil Chaahta Hai (DCH), another movie of three friends. He plays the role of Imran, the playful copywriter, who learns that his biological father was different from the man he thought was his father. The character of Imran is probably the most complex, since he is an extrovert and a happy-go-lucky person but he also likes to write poetry and has a vulnerable side that is private. Farhan has played the character well. However, did he influence Zoya, his sister when she directed the movie ?!

    While watching the movie, the story of 3 friends from DCH constantly came to my mind. That was also a tale of relationships and ZNMD is all about relationships. There is the relationship among 3 friends ; then there is the relationship of Arjun and his ex-girlfriend in London ; the relationship between Kabir and Natasha, his fiancee and between Imran and a father whom he has not known at all.

    Laila's character is a breath of fresh air in the movie. She is a sea diving instructor who teaches Arjun to lighten up and live in the present. Katrina Kaif is believable as Laila but the intensity of her interaction with Arjun is an achievement of director Zoya Akhtar. The underwater photography is a treat and so is the cinematography of the Spanish landscape, as the three friends drive through the country.

    Personally, the movie kindled memories of happy vacations that I have had : one experience in Goa with three friends from work. DCH had released more than a year ago, but we identified with the 3 friends there. We didn't actually do much in Goa, going to only a couple of beaches and to Chapora Fort, but it was just the fact that we were together and talking that made the experience so memorable. I have a habit of following hand signals on my motor bike and when we hired scooters, I was on the pillion seat still making those signals. My friends on the other scooter started mimicking me ! We had a whale of fun, pulling each others' legs ! One friend plays the Casio keyboard well and that engaged us in the hotels. Three of us were bachelors then, but that was just incidental !

    The other memorable trip was one that I had with my wife and her three cousins. We went in a taxi to Jog falls - and again, the cousins got together to tease the youngest cousin whose marriage had just been fixed ! We stayed in a tent - not a "rough" tent, but the sophisticated type, with attached bathrooms behind it. I recall seeing a shooting star in the night and a long cards session played out amidst laughter, conversation and fun ! The next day, we visited Jog and then went to the "Mungaaru Male" spot, the place where the climax of the Kannada movie was shot. The trek on the slippery rocks is was about as adventurous I can get ! I still have fond memories of this trip and so does my wife.

    So, ZNMD brought back those memories. The pranks and traits of ZNMD's characters resonate with us. The reference to mimicking teachers' diction ("My bwoy" instead of "My boy"), the juvenile pranks, the corny PJs of Imran (he calls a branded bag "Ms. Bagwathi" and gives it pride of place in the car !) and other behavioral quirks are realistic.

    As each friend takes on a dare and all of them get out of their comfort zone, they mature and by the end of the trip (and the movie), they have also changed. The movie shows this transformation well.

    So, my verdict : enjoy the photography, the relationships and the music. In particular, the song "Udey khwaabon ke parinday" is a good song to have for a long drive while "Junoon" and "Senorita" sets the mood for the movie. Above all, I would say that ZNMD has to be watched for the message from Laila : "Seize the day". I feel that the lesson is worth carrying away from the movie, particularly in the the way that Arjun learns it.

    In contrast Kahaani's strength lies in its story. Vidya Bagchi is a pregnant woman who comes to Kolkata to locate her missing husband. She is helped by a Kolkata policeman called Rana and finds that her husband resembles Milind Damji, who works in a organization called National Data Center. A cat-and-mouse game begins with the entry of a central intelligence officer that ends with a climax that sees Vidya meeting a terrorist on Durga puja in Kolkata.

    The climax is riveting. The characters are well etched out also. From the helpful policeman Rana to the rude central investigator Khan to the assassin Bob Biswas, all characters have their own place in the story. Surprisingly, I liked the music too, with Usha Uthup singing energetically about Kolkata and Amitabh Bachchan rendering Rabindranath Tagore's "Ekla cholo re" in his famous baritone. The movie brings Kolkata to life, to a substantial degree.

    I watched Shah Rukh Khan starrer Don and it was all technical finesse and special effects but it had little soul. The same is true for movies like "Dhoom 2". Kahaani, directed by Sujoy Ghosh, has quite a bit of technical finesse and a lot of soul ! Just like movies like "Satya", "Vaastav", etc. bring the underworld of Mumbai to life, so does "Kahaani" bring (some of) the essence of Kolkata to life. I haven't visited Kolkata, but I can see this in the scenes of the young tea sellers, the use of the "daak-nom"(pet name) and the preparation for Durga puja.

    There are a couple of loose ends in the movie : after the movie ends (and after watching it twice) I am unsure about how Vidya learns about the description of the lobby in the guest house. Secondly, my knowledge in Hindu mythology is probably average or at best better than average, but I am pretty confident that Satyaki the Yadav warrior was never the charioteer of Arjun. Vidya refers to this when talking to Rana ("Satyaki"), but the reference is incorrect. The dialogue writer probably confused Satyaki with Shikhandi !

    The climax of the movie is shot during Durga puja. Amitabh Bachchan's voice provides a narration of how Durga is born to cleanse the earth of all evil and as the speech ends, a Durga idol is immersed in the sea. It is an apt conclusion to a good story and one that is also symbolic of Kolkata. I have watched a Hindi thriller that was this exciting after a long time. If given a chance, I will see Kahaani simply to appreciate the way in which the story unravels.